Music Business Master's Program

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Description and Mission

The Music Business graduate program is a specialized program that addresses the music industry as a unique business operating within corporate and entrepreneurial structures. New York University is one of the few universities in the country to offer a graduate degree in the music business field. The skills you develop will serve you well in a fast-paced industry that needs thoroughly trained personnel who can apply business and administration theory to problems that have a strong aesthetic and artistic dimension.

In addition to providing structured courses, the curriculum promotes student autonomy through an interactive classroom atmosphere, internships, and research requirements. Students are encouraged to participate in extracurricular activities such as the Concert Program Board, radio station WNYU and to follow our blog, Velocity, for the latest news and happenings.

Underlying our curriculum is a four-step process of teaching and learning that answers the question: what can you learn at a university that will prepare you to succeed in an industry that is notoriously fluid and capricious?

First, we teach the structure of the industry – its systems, practices, rules and regulations.

Second, we explore the changes in and reasons behind that structure.

Third, we encourage critical analysis and interpretation of the structure.

The fourth step is up to you – final Colloquy projects propose changes and innovations to take the industry forward.

The focus of the concentration is on understanding interrelations between music businesses and consumer technologies, audio for games and other interactive applications, sound design in the digital music space, and emerging platforms for the generation and exploitation of music.

In their final M.A. projects, students in the concentration have:

Developed mobile apps

Started businesses

Proposed business and technology policies and strategies to government agencies

Used technology to promote emerging music trends abroad

Built new IP (intellectual property) assets for start-up firms using recorded music samples

Applicants for this concentration submit details of their prior academic and/or professional music technology experience.

Student Learning Objectives

In this program, students will learn to

Apply business and administration theory to problems that have a strong aesthetic and artistic dimension

Define, critique, and evaluate the structure and operation of the music business

Devise organizational objectives and make strategy decisions to reach goals

Design final Colloquy projects that propose changes and innovations to take the industry forward

When completing the degree, students will attain core competencies in these five areas:

Financial and market development for music goods and services, including strategic analysis and planning

Legal, technological and competitive environment for the music business

Leadership in complex organizational environments for the music business

International environment for the arts and the impact of the global economy

Applications of research methodologies in the field

How to Apply

Successful candidates are expected to be highly motivated and prepared to take advantage of a professional program set in the world's music business capital.